Last week at the Whole Foods I kept circling my cart back to the display of Olivia's Cornbread croutons. I didn’t really need stuffing mix: my aunts or cousins make the stuffing every year. The display was so irresistibly seasonal though, like pumpkin spice lattes and eggnog, that I relented on my third pass, tossing a box into the cart with plans for a pre-Thanksgiving stuffing warm-up.
Next I had to decide what to add to the mix. Last year my brother-in-law Speed made a stuffing version he dubbed FrankenStuffing. I couldn't recall exactly what went into it so I sent Speed a text asking for a refresher. His response: "oysters, sausage, leftovers and love." Figuring it wasn't going to be easy to recreate that combination, instead I opted for some Athlete Food staples: tart dried cherries, fresh pears, pumpkin seeds, and for a protein blast, diced chicken sausage.
I usually keep to a gluten-free diet to help tame my allergies, but I can get away with a bite here and there. (I know this contradicts some medical logic. But it works for me.) I cannot imagine seeing stuffing and not taking a spoonful or or two. It would be downright un-American.
I used most of my batch to bribe Laurel to come downtown and walk my dog while I was at a doctor's appointment. She had a few bowls full (who doesn't like eating stuffing by the bowlful?) before her swim workout. Later, she reported back that she had one of her best swims of the fall off-season.
--Bec
Athlete Food FrankenStuffing
Into your favorite stuffing recipe, add:
2 chicken apple sausages, chopped into ½-inch pieces, and browned
1 crispy pear, skin on, cubed into ½-inch pieces
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
Top with:
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
Bake according to the recipe’s instructions.
Pre-Thanksgiving Off-Season Swim Workout
1000 Warm up - straight
900 as 9x100 (25easy/75hard, 50easy/50hard, 75e/25hard)
800 as 2x400 pull + paddles
700 as 7x100 pull (no paddles)
600 as 3x(4x50) Fins on :40
500 as Fins - Right/Left/Both/Fast by 25 x 5
400 as 4x100 Breathing every 5 strokes
300 as Kick with board (25/50/75/75/50/75, hard down, easy back)
200 as 50 drill/50 swim x 2
100 ez & done